


The Memory of Starlight

by wnnbdarklord



Category: National Treasure (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Quests, Somewhat Epistolary, Undercover, a surprising lack of death and danger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-01 12:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16284968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wnnbdarklord/pseuds/wnnbdarklord
Summary: This time, Riley is the one to find the clues to their next big find. He has no idea what is in store for all of them and for the world.





	The Memory of Starlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lirin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/gifts).



> This was such an unusual crossover, but I had fun writing it! I hope you like it :D As always, comments very welcome.

"I'm telling you Ben, this is the real deal!" Riley said, waving a bunch of printouts in Ben's direction. Ben was not paying attention, too focused on some dusty parchment that was _definitely_ not as interesting as Riley's find. 

"Atlantis is a myth," Ben said, with that air of absent mindedness that said he'd not been listening to a word Riley had been saying. Riley flung up his arms, then had to scramble to keep his papers from flying. 

"Oh, like the treasure that made us millionaires was a myth? Like the lost city of Cibola was a myth?" 

Ben finally straightened up and sighed. He rubbed at his eyes. He looked strung out in the yellow light of his desk lamp. You'd think with the huge mansion and enormous amount of money, he'd have afforded a better light and bigger room. But Ben seemed to find the cramped office overflowing with books and papers familiar and comforting. 

"Look, Riley, normally I'd be right there with you. But if any of the records about Atlantis are correct, it'd be smack dab in the middle of the most highly trafficked sea routes today. How many explorers have mapped that area in search of shipwrecks, not to mention the ones specifically searching for Atlantis? They'd have to have found it by now." 

"It took years for us to find that shipwreck," Riley countered. 

"No one else was looking. And a ship is tiny compared to an entire island." Ben turned to look at Riley. His expression changed from exasperation to a bit of curiosity when he saw the look on Riley's face. 

"You're serious about this?"

"This is something no one else has figured out. New evidence!"

Ben still looked skeptical. 

"Look, a dig up in New England found the remains of a ship and some really well preserved papers. None of them could make out the writing, so a friend of a friend passed them onto me. They heard about my translating software. I finally got some headway on the papers. If I hadn't seen the carbon dating, I wouldn't believe it myself."

"If I got a penny every time we ran after every shipwreck brought over from Europe talking about Atlantis, I'd...well, not richer than I am now, but pretty rich."

"No, Ben, you don't get it. These records weren't something the Europeans brought over," Riley rustled the printouts to make his point, waving them in front of Ben's face. 

"Are you telling me there are Native American records talking about Atlantis before any European colonizers came?" Ben finally looked as interested as he should have been at the start. 

"Older," Riley said with a grin. He did so enjoy being able to be the one to show off for once. The look on Ben's face was priceless. 

"Let me see those," Ben reached out for the papers. Riley let them go with as much grace as he could muster, a grin on his face. He'd always wanted to be the one to get the idea for a wild and wacky race to a forgotten something or other. And it didn't get much bigger than Atlantis. 

"Atalantë," Ben murmured, tracing the word on the printout. 

Both of them jerked up at a noise at the door. Abigail froze at the sudden attention. She was carrying three cups of coffee. 

"Did I miss something?"

"Abigail," Ben smiled, "We're going to find Atlantis."

* * *

_The Year 3319 of the Second Age_

_This is an account of the downfall of the once great Numenor, now forever known as Atalante, the Downfallen, written by Calendil, scribe in service to the great Lord Amandil. It is a tale of misery and bitter, forlorn hope._

_Our voyage began bearing the thinnest thread of hope; lord Amandil meant to sail past Ar-Pharazon's fleet and so come to the Undying Lands before him and beg for the Valar's mercy. But it was not to be. It was as though the very seas had turned against us - us who are only second to the elves of Eressea in our knowledge of sea craft! - waylaying our meager number. Then a great storm arose as we were within sight of Aman. It bore us westward, beyond even the shores of Aman, a thing none of us had thought possible._

_When the storm abated, we could do naught but watch as in the distance Ar-Pharazon landed in Aman. Great was the Valar's wrath and an even larger storm arose. Eru himself called down the heavens and our ships were borne upon a great wave towards Numenor, our forsaken home. It took all our knowledge of the sea and winds that we possessed to turn from the wave._

_It was the only thing that saved us, for right before we turned away, I could see the yawning abyss before us. It was utterly dark before our eyes. Numenor broke upon the wave and sank into the depths._

_But the great gale did not end and we were once more borne westward, even as we were in sight of the other ships of the Faithful! We thought to take shelter in Tol Eressea, at least, should the Valar prove to have any mercy. However, days passed and we saw no isle, no familiar lands, nowhere to take shelter for repairs and provisions. Grieving and heartsick for our lost home, we could do naught but press on where the winds bore us._

_Still, the puzzle of the missing Undying Lands ate at us. The stars showed we were still sailing West; there was no way we could have missed it; not with Ardan's sharp eyes on lookout. We sailed, far over what should have been the edge of the world. Our supplies grew low. Even if the winds relented, there was no way we could return the way we came before succumbing to thirst. Our slimmest, merest hope was to press on._

_I can only pray to Eru that we shall be borne to some kind of salvation._

* * *

"Are you sure we couldn't have taken a plane?" Riley asked, not for the first time. He bundled into his jacket, squinting against the sea spray and the wind. Not that there was much to see beyond the play of moonlight on the waves.

"Cannot handle a little fresh air, Riley?" Elliott, the ship's captain and owner teased, with a gentle laugh that sounded like bells. Riley was secure enough in his masculinity to admit he was a little bit in love with the sound. Actually, he could spend hours listening to Elliott's voice, especially while he was singing his foreign sea shanties. Something about them really managed to invoke images of the sea and waves and strange, elegant ships winging their way across.

"Are we there yet?" Riley said instead of any of what he was actually thinking. 

"According to your charts, we have a few more days of travel," Abigail said as she emerged from the cabin where she'd been cuddled up with Ben. 

"They're not my charts," Riley protested. Well, they technically were now, but he hadn't been the one to discover them. Though if they ever found Atlantis, he'd be sure to give proper credit. The moment he'd said the words Atlantis to the original archeologists who'd found the shipwreck, they'd laughed in his face and told him to do whatever he liked with the scans of the originals. Riley had gotten that in writing. They probably hadn't recognized him, even though his and Ben's and Abigail's faces had been on the news for weeks following the discovery of the templar treasure. You'd think a bunch of archeologists at least would have known who he was. 

As it was, they now had access to all the papers (though it wasn't actually paper; it wasn't parchment either) found in the wreck. Included in them were very detailed star charts and a long journal with a pretty unhappy ending. Well, if his translation software was working correctly. He was pretty sure the references to elves and gods had to be some sort of errors, possibly proper nouns of some kind. 

The survivors of the wreck had been too few, too male and the area they'd landed on too sparsely populated (if it had been populated at all) to survive for long (the amount of years _surely_ had to be another error). Still, they'd handily left behind a pretty clear map to follow. It had taken a lot of simulations to get the stars aligned to their present positions, but once they had that, they were good to go. Ben had found an experienced captain, one who still knew how to sail by the stars as well as use all the computers Riley had brought along. Riley'd be insulted, but experience had shown that having a backup plan was always handy.

"No, but you are the only one who saw their value," Elliot's voice broke him out of his thoughts. His eyes were kind and Riley fancied he could see the stars above them reflected in their depths. Elliott really was unfairly pretty. 

"You really think we'll find Atlantis?" he asked. This first expedition was just to get proper coordinates. Any deep sea diving would have to be undertaken on another mission. 

Elliott suddenly looked a lot older than he seemed, a strange sort of seriousness falling onto his shoulders. 

"I believe we will. This is a history that has long been hidden. Perhaps it is time for it to come to light."

"I like that," Abigail said, "History should always be known. How else can we move forward?"

With that lovely sentiment, their conversation faltered and they returned to watching the stars and the waves. 

* * *

_Year 3460 of the Second Age_

_These are the last words I, Calendil scribe of Amandil, shall ever write. I write this with all of my strength and will that this be preserved and one day finds its way to hands that can use it._

_There is no hope and no rescue. I can feel age creeping up onto me. Most of the others have already succumbed to despair, others to hunger or sickness. This land is strange; its animals and plants unknown to us. It has taken many summers to learn which can be eaten and which are poison._

_My one last hope is that one day a voyager from Middle-earth will stumble upon our remains. Perhaps they shall be as lost as we have been, perhaps they shall look for us with purpose. In either case, I leave them a full accounting of our time and of the voyage to this strange land. It is with this last faint hope that I can imagine our remains resting once more within the lands of our forebears._

_The light is growing dim and I can feel myself fading. May the light of Earendil shine upon us all._

* * *

The day they were about to arrive in their starting search area, the world around them was enveloped in a thick fog. Every noise and light seemed muted in a peculiar way Riley had never experienced before, even though this wasn't his first time being thick in a fog. Something about it pressed down on him and he felt like a great presence was watching them all closely. Not maliciously...just observing. He shivered and pushed the feeling aside. 

Ben was standing at the prow of the ship with Abigail, peering into the mists. The water around them was calm and still, the wind nonexistent. The fog light at the front barely pierced twenty feet ahead of them. Everything was very quiet. Too quiet. The engines weren't running and they were almost still in the water, gliding slowly on the unfurled sails (because of course Ben would rent a sailing ship for this expedition)

"To move quickly in this weather would be perilous," Elliott's soft voice behind him made him jump. Riley suppressed his yelp to a strangled meep and he whirled around to face Elliott.

"A little warning next time maybe?" his voice was just as soft. Something about this fog made him want to be unnoticed. Elliott smirked, the bastard. 

"I'm sorry, my friend. You must have been deep in thought to not hear me approach."

Yeah, let's go with that, Riley thought. He tried to keep from frowning as it occurred to him he had never heard Elliott approach. The man was like a cat, stealthy and quiet, but very sure footed. He'd put it down to being much more comfortable on the water than any of them. Now, he was not so sure. 

"We should head north for two miles," Abigail called from the prow. Riley flinched a bit as her voice carried through the fog, perfectly clear despite its blanketing effects on other noise. 

"What? Why?" Riley asked. He thought they'd hold position until the fog went away and then begin their preliminary search. He looked to Elliot for support, but the man was looking at Abigail with his clear grey eyes, something searching in his gaze. Slowly, he nodded and left to adjust their course. Riley headed towards Ben and Abigail. Maybe they'd seen something through the fog?

"It's just a...feeling," Abigail said, "I can't explain it. It's almost like something is pulling me there."

Riley exchanged glances with Ben, a little reassured to see the same worry there that he was feeling. 

"Well, never let it be said we didn't work on instinct as much as science," he said, trying to inject a bit of levity. It felt like the fog swallowed his words. 

They looked out ahead in silence for a long while, only broken by Abigail calling out changes in course every few minutes. Neither Ben nor Riley said anything, even though most of the changes made no sense. Still, it lent the air of constant stillness and unchanging fog around them some sort of purpose other than drifting. 

"What's that, up ahead?" Ben suddenly said. Riley squinted, but couldn't see anything. Just as he was about to say so, he noticed the light ahead.

"Wha-"

Their ship broke through the fog and into dazzling sunlight. It was as though a curtain had been lifted in front of them, revealing the world before them. All of them squinted at the light, but the view in front of them was too captivating to look away. 

Rising from the water in front of them, still miles away, was an island. Sheer cliffs rose up high, broken rocks and churning waves beating at them. Deeper inland, a steep mountain arose high into the sky. Riley could see faint specks circling over the top, birds of some sort. 

"Ben?" Riley asked.

"Yes, Riley?" Ben's voice indicated he wasn't exactly giving Riley his full attention. 

"There wasn't supposed to be an island here, right?"

"Pretty sure there wasn't."

"The satellites would have seen it, right?" They definitely should have seen it. Riley had gotten a friend of his in the DOJ to aim a military satellite at this area of the Atlantic before they'd left to make sure. It hadn't been a problem since there really shouldn't have been anything here.

"That they would have."

"Atalantë," Elliott said, voice breathy and awed. Riley tore his gaze away from the island long enough to see him staring ahead, a strange light in his gaze and stance. He looked like he was glowing, a little bit. Though that was probably just the light after the long fog. 

"Are we sure?" Riley said, "This feels a little easy. Usually there's a lot more death and danger and wrong answers before an unlikely set of circumstances leads to the correct answer."

"You are but one part of a much longer tale. It seems as though most of the death and danger lies behind you and before you ever knew of this place," Elliott said, his speech slipping into a strange, but musical cadence.

"Yes, but the same was true for the other times as well," Abigail said, "We just revealed the history that was already there, while others who wanted it for greed tried to stop us. It does feel a bit weird to not have that this time."

"Imagine, taking our time with a history making find," Ben said, a smile breaking out on his face.

"It does sound nice," Riley said, "That's why I don't trust this."

Elliott laughed, a high clear sound that again reminded Riley of chiming bells. 

"Well, there is but one way to be certain, yes?" He leapt from the prow towards the cabin and started the engines again. He began to steer them towards the island at a faster pace, deftly avoiding the jutting rocks and treacherous eddies that happened around them. 

"Oh my god," Abigail said, "Ben, Riley. Look!" she pointed downwards. Riley gaped. 

Below them, through water clear as crystal, they could see the ruins of roads and buildings. White stone shone brilliantly in the light, uncovered by algae or silt even after all this time. Stone statues, crumbled and broken, but unworn by the tides lay crumbled on the seafloor. The water was so clear Riley felt like he could just reach into the water and pick a piece up. 

"That's impossible," Riley said, pretty sure his voice felt as faint as he did.

"It's clearly not," Ben said, just as awed. 

"No, I mean it's literally impossible for it to be this well preserved. Where's the sea life? The sand? Those statues should have lost their detail from the tides and rush of water. It's not possible."

"Riley?" Abigail said.

"Yeah?"

"Stop thinking just for a second and enjoy the discovery. I think this is it."

This was it. It _had_ to be it. What else could it be? It was almost an insult to call the things they were seeing roads and buildings. They were works of art, elegant and tall, telling a story of a once mighty civilization that fell to sudden, inexplicable ruin. 

"Oh god, I can see bodies."

Skeletons, rather. A trick of refraction (had to be) had made it seem like there were corpses lying on the bottom, huddled in corners and against walls, terror stark on their faces. He suddenly felt wretched. He'd known, intellectually, that most of the population probably hadn't made it, but the jolt of realizing that they'd been people just like him wasn't something he'd expected. It was a bit of a wonder, really, that he hadn't had this revelation before, considering all the history they'd been mucking around in. 

The skeletons were still clothed, rich fabrics that called to mind medieval clothing rather than classical. Just how advanced was this civilization?

Elliott sailed the ship in a circle around the island. It was fairly small as islands went, but the mountain gave it an imposing presence. The eastern side of the island gradually sloped down and Riley could even see some buildings still standing strong at the edges and a path that wound its way up the mountain. 

The ship drifted towards the edge of the island and Riley could no longer see the remains of the island below them. They sailed over a sheer drop off at the bottom, the sea floor abruptly cleft apart. It was utterly dark and deep below, allowing them to anchor right up to the island. Creepiest dock ever, in Riley's opinion. It looked like an earthquake and the resulting tidal wave had broken the island and wiped everyone out. 

"I can't believe the island didn't completely sink," Ben said once they were standing on firm ground, "This'll make conservation efforts a lot easier. I thought we would have to deep dive to the bottom of the Atlantic."

"Well, I can't imagine any survivors would have stuck around to see the results," Riley said, looking around. Atlantis, if this really was Atlantis, was beautiful. Everything around them was lush and green with vegetation. He could hear the rustling and calls of countless birds, unbothered by the presence of any predators. Despite the remarkably intact ruins and roads, everything around them felt so _alive_. 

"Elliott?" Abigail brought their attention to the only other member of their party. Elliott was standing still in the sunlight, staring up at the mountain, a backpack held loosely in his hand. Something round and heavy was inside. For a moment, Riley fancied he could see Elliott transformed, a star upon his brows, hair long and dark, armored and armed as though for a battle from old, old legends. Then he blinked and Elliott was once again just a sailor, if a very tall and pretty one. 

Elliott turned to them, a light in his eyes and a solemn expression on his face. 

"I had never dreamed I would be part of such a thing. To step foot on Numenor, the land of my forefathers."

Riley had the sudden feeling Elliott had not told them all of his reasons for joining them. But then Elliott smiled and all his worries broke away like clouds before the sun. 

"Come, let us explore!"

He sprang away with a light step and was on the path to the mountain in a few steps. The others looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. They had all the time in the world for detailed exploration.

In spite of all of the life around them, all of them had a solemn air as they climbed the path. It was surprisingly well preserved, but time had worn away at the stones. They were cracked in many places , roots of trees and plants peeking through. From time to time, they saw bleached bones peeking through the foliage. All of them grew quiet whenever they passed those. They were all acutely aware they were passing through the site of a tragedy. The templar treasure had been hidden and left alone, the lost city abandoned. This civilization had died, leaving its remains. _All_ of its remains. It was a wonder though, that more of the bones weren't dust in the wind. Something about Atlantis, or Numenor as the inhabitants had called it, had a strange preservative effect. 

The walk up the mountain was a wonder in itself. All along the path were statues and carvings, the details on them still vivid. As they spiraled up to the western side, they came across more and more buildings and finally an opening into the mountain itself, though the path carried on away from it and continued up the mountain. 

Elliott's steps slowed as they approached. 

"The tombs of kings," he said, indicating the circlets across the brows of the statues here. 

"And nobles, probably," Ben said, pointing to the less ornate tombs. 

"Just this site holds a lifetime of work. I can't imagine how lucky we were that this hadn't crumbled into the ocean as well," Abigail said. The longer they were on Numenor, the taller and more graceful she looked, as though something about this place was welcoming her. She didn't stumble on the road nearly as much as Riley and even Ben were. Like she instinctively knew where to place her feet. It was cool and, remembering the thing on the boat, a little bit creepy. 

"Fortunate indeed. There is much you can learn about a place through its funeral rites. Not everything, however," Elliott said. 

They continued on, an unspoken agreement to leave the dead kings to their rest for now. It wasn't as though they had flashlights anyway. And who knew in what state the inside was? 

It took a long time to climb the mountain. Riley was soon wheezing and even Ben and Abigail were breathing heavily. Elliott continued on like he did this every day. Which could be true. Who knew what the guy did in his free time. 

"How high is this thing?" he said and stopped, leaning forward. It was probably just him, but the air felt very thin this high up. It didn't help that by now the path was much more narrow, giving them all an unobstructed view down to the bottom. Did these people not believe in railing?

"It is said that the Meneltarma was the highest mountain in the world," Elliott called from up ahead, "But do not worry, we're almost there."

"Is it just me, or is there something weird about that dude?" Riley muttered under his breath.

"Not just you," Ben said as he passed. 

Soon, they emerged on a flat plateau. Riley's breath caught in his throat and not just from the sudden lack of effort. The plain before them was utterly flat, but still breathtaking. The view was incredible. He could see far into the distance, the entire ocean surrounding them like a blue jewel. There was no trace of the fog that had blocked their way. Far, far into the west, he could see a vague haze that he thought might be land. He blinked and the haze was gone. 

It was beautiful, but slightly eerie; it was utterly silent, except for the wind and the sound of their breathing. Once more, Riley felt like something was watching him, curious but non judgemental. 

Then he paid closer attention and realized something really was watching him. A strangled yelp died in his throat. 

"That's a giant eagle."

"Yes," Ben said, sounding very nervous. The eagle didn't pay them any attention, looking away and flap hopping to Elliott. It made a strange cooing sound and preened his hair. Elliott looked awed, but not scared. 

"I had not thought you would still be here, after all this time. I am honored."

Another eagle landed and hopped forward and Riley could see a third still wheeling above them. 

Elliott smiled.

"They are good people and will honor the history of this place. It is time old history is revealed. Give my greetings to my father and mother. My brother chose a different path. Farewell!"

With a piercing screech, the eagles winged into the air and joined the third. Then they flew into the west. Riley watched them until they were tiny specks and disappeared. 

"What the hell just happened?"

"Those were the eagles of Manwë," Elliott said. He looked wholly transformed in this place, standing tall and straight, the light of stars in his eyes. 

"Who are you?" Abigail asked.

"What are you?" Riley said instead. No way was Elliott just a normal human. Elliot kept smiling and looked inexplicably old compared to the years on his face. 

"I am a friend. But I have not been wholly honest. My true name is Elladan and I am far older than I seem. Yet not even I am as old as this place and I have never before set foot on this holy mountain. My thanks to you for this. I am sorry for my deception, but I had wanted to gain a measure of your character before disclosing myself."

"No, no way," Abigail said. Her eyes were very very wide. 

"You know something about this?" Ben asked. He also looked pole axed. Riley was sure he looked no different. 

"Know? Not really. But there are legends, stories. I thought they were just that."

"History becomes legend, legend becomes myth," Elladan said, "Come, join me and I shall tell you the history of this isle and the world as you know it. It is a lengthy tale."

They really had no other choice but to come closer and join him on the grass. 

* * *

"The world is going to think we're mad," Riley said after the story was over. Elladan had retreated to give them space to talk. Riley felt as though he'd woken from a dream. Elves were real and the Earth was somehow a lot older than they'd thought it was. He felt like his brain was going to break.

"The world already thinks we're mad," Ben responded, eyes gleaming, "Don't you see? This changes -"

"Everything," Abigail said, looking at the mountain peak around them in new wonder, "It's not just one lost civilization on an island other primitive cultures might have thought were advanced, it's an entire history. Everything we've ever known is wrong. History, science... _physics_! Magic exists. _Elves_ exist. Nothing will ever be the same."

"No one will believe us," Riley said, "Even if we drag them here. No one believed in the treasure and we found that! Some people still think it was a hoax! This is too big. _I_ don't believe it yet!"

"It doesn't make it less true," Ben said, determination etching its way onto his face, "We have to try. This can't be kept a secret. Imagine everything we could learn!"

"I wasn't suggesting we keep it a secret!" Riley protested, "I was just mourning the brief time in my life when I was rich, pleasantly handsome and not considered a crazy person." 

"Very brief," Abigail teased him. Riley made a face at her. Ben just grinned his mad grin at them.

"Let's go change the world."

"Again."


End file.
